Charlotte — The guy accused of killing two people at the historic Lamplighter Inn on Thursday was apprehended in South Florida early Friday morning.
Officers from the Port St. Lucie, Florida, police discovered 38-year-old Alvaro Luis Ozuna Sierra was moving towards the city 12 hours after the murder when they began pursuing him about 1:30 a.m. A K-9 team discovered Sierra and his vehicle near an intersection, and many cops executed a felony traffic stop.
Officers can be seen screaming orders at Sierra on body cam video, and he was hauled into custody without incident. Port St. Lucie is located 50 miles north of West Palm Beach.
Sierra was wanted for the shooting deaths of two persons, Pankaj Kiritbhai Patel and Anilkumar Somabhai Patel, both aged 54. Authorities verified that the incident occurred outside the renowned motel that closed last winter in northwest Charlotte. He was charged with two charges of first-degree murder.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police responded to a report of an attack with a deadly weapon in the 4400 block of Eddleman Road shortly after 1 p.m. City officials closed the property in December due to neglect and harmful circumstances.
When officers arrived, they discovered two victims had been shot. Both were transferred to a local hospital, but died shortly after arrival.
Detectives from CMPD’s Homicide Unit went at the scene, and Crime Scene Search combed the area to acquire evidence.
Sierra will have to be extradited back to Mecklenburg County, and CMPD officers traveled to Florida on Friday to interview him.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Detective Lewis of the Homicide Unit at 704-432-TIPS or Charlotte Crime Stoppers at 704-334-1600.
